Bedfordshire man jailed for terrorism offences

A man from Luton has been jailed for terrorism offences, after detectives found extremist documents saved on his mobile phone.

Mohammed Adnan Saleem, 22, was today (Friday) jailed for one year and six months at the Old Bailey, after previously being found guilty of three counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

As part of an investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), Saleem was arrested in May 2020, with investigators seizing two mobile phones, a laptop, digital storage devices and a games console.

Examination by digital forensics experts found the devices to contain several banned documents, including a guide to making a pressure cooker bomb, a file on how to make explosives, and a separate document titled 'How to become an assassin'.

He was subsequently charged with eight counts of collecting or possessing material likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Following a three-week trial in March, a jury found Saleem, of Montrose Avenue, Luton, guilty of three of those counts.

Hannah Wilkinson, head of ERSOU's Counter Terrorism Policing unit, said: "There is no doubt that Saleem held a dangerous extremist mindset. He proactively downloaded Islamist propaganda and had spoken to others about his views on jihad.

"Knowing his actions were wrong, he used encrypted communications tools in an attempt to hide his messages, and subsequently tried to argue in court that the documents he'd downloaded were for 'educational purposes'.

"Our specialist detectives work incredibly hard to keep our region safe from the threat of terrorism, however the public are our eyes and ears when it comes to spotting the signs of extremism.

"I would urge anyone who thinks a loved one has started to hold extremist views or is showing signs of radicalisation to act right away by contacting the national Police Prevent Advice Line through www.gov.uk/ACT or calling 0800 011 3764."

Bedfordshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable, Sharn Basra, said: "There is no place in Bedfordshire for those who hold extremist views. 

"We work closely with our partners through Prevent to help reduce the risk of people of all ages and backgrounds from being radicalised into holding extreme ideological views. 

"Our communities are our eyes and ears for this, so if you think someone you know may be being radicalised, it's important you take action and speak out."